Kscope - 2013
Last year's Dead End Kings was not only one of my favorite releases of 2012, but one of my favorite releases from Katatonia period. While some accused the band of being stuck in a rut, I viewed it as the coming together of everything the band had been trying to reach with their sound over the past few albums. It was a real culmination from Last Fair Deal to the present.
As someone who has 'collected' all of Katatonia's EPs and singles over the years, I can't say that I have ever truly enjoyed these remixes so I was a bit hesitant when the band announced their concept to essentially strip all of the tracks from Dead End Kings and release them in a new form. My fears were calmed when they released the stripped down version of "The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here." and it seemed that the integrity of the original song was truly kept intact.
I can't help but be impressed at how well this turned out after repeated listening to the entire album. Not quite an acoustic album due to it's use of brooding atmospheres and synths to replace the distortion, you will find this significantly more mellow than the album from which it came. The way that they shifted the riffs or put some sort of a variation of them and brought them to a different instrument is occasionally breathtaking. Undoubtedly the strongest 're-imagining' to me is that of "Leech". While I thoroughly enjoyed all of the songs on Dead End Kings, "Leech" was never my favorite but that has changed here. The addition of piano and strings as well as pulling Jonas' vocals to the forefront creates one of the most poignant and emotionally charged choruses from the band to date. Keeping in mind that the vocal lines were kept the same (though occasionally some additional effects were added in), this is quite a feat. It truly speaks volumes to how much Jonas' vocals have improved since the Discouraged Ones days and the entire album finally pulls them out of the background. Some of the other songs that seem to benefit the most are "The Racing Heart" and "First Prayer" (though it does feel more like acoustic versions). Truth be told, the only song that doesn't really seem to mesh is "Buildings". Every time I hear it, I just keep yearning to hear the rather identifiable distorted guitar riff before the chorus but it never comes. I do like the dark ambient vibe in it's place but it just can't replace the original that has burnt it's way into my brain.
All in all, this is a very creative offering from Katatonia that any fan of Dead End Kings should immediately check out. It's a great experiment and they really nailed what they were going for here. If they can figure out the best way to blend what they have accomplished here with returning a bit of the distortion back with the next album, it could be simply incredible.
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